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IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128 Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Available online at www.ijpcbs.com Research Article

FOOD CONTAMINATION: IT’S STAGES AND ASSOCIATED ILLNESS

Shikha Sharma1, Arti Mishra2, Kartikeya Shukla3,
Tanu Jindal1,3 and Smriti Shukla1*
1Amity Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Safety and Management,
Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
2Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University,

Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

3Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences, Amity University,

Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.

ABSTRACT
Food contamination is the spoilage of food with contaminants such as microbes, toxins, heavy
metals, environmental contaminants etc and Food Microbiology is the study of microorganisms that
are present in foods and leads to contamination of food. This includes the study of microorganisms
causing food spoilage; as well as pathogens that may cause disease due to improper cooking or
storage of food. These microbes are also used to produce fermented foods like cheese, yogurt,
bread, beer, wine and are even used in probiotics. The primary focus of food microbiology is food
safety. There are many microbes like bacteria, viruses etc which gets transmitted through foods.
Food safety is the discipline that deals with the food preparation, handling, processing, storage,
distribution and its transportation in such a way that it does not gets contaminated during any of
these processes. The major role of food safety is the prevention of any food borne illness and
diseases. When food safety is neglected or care with food is not taken food borne disease
outbreaks can occur. Outbreak is defined as a situation in which more than two cases occur from a
common source and have same impacts on health. The consumption of contaminated food can
result in hazards (physical, chemical, biological and allergenic) and hence its prevention and
control is necessary. The process of food safety must be followed from the initial stage to its end
stage which means from its origin to its consumer. Food safety is also associated the quality of
water used for its irrigation, preparation and storage. This review paper discusses about the food
contamination through different stages (pre harvest, harvest and post harvest), the diseases and
illnesses caused by food contamination along with its prevention.

Keywords: contamination, food, hazard, food borne diseases, meat and fish.

1. INTRODUCTION 2016) Spoilage of food has always been a

Food is defined as any substance that is edible
and portable too, originating either from plant
or animal source. (David R. J. et al; 2012) Food is
ingested by each and every living being on the
planet Earthand that is why it poses a great
threat for disease transmission. Food sustains
life and helps in providing energy, growth and
maintenance of health of body. (David R. J. et al;
2012) Food acts as a vehicle for transmission of
diseases specially when gets contaminated with
harmful microbes, microbial toxins and other
environmental contaminants. (Alum, E. A. et al;
challenge to mankind and this is because food
nutrients act as a great source to microbes for
their growth. (Ajay Kumar V. J. & Mandal P. K;
2020) Food contamination is defined as the
spoilage of food due to bacterial growth or toxic
substances present in it. In simple words, any
substance in food that reduces the safety or
quality of food is called food contamination.
Food contamination can be intentional or
accidental or even natural. Some may be able to
see it with naked eyes like fungal or mould
growth but in general food contamination can’t

116
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128
be seen with naked eyes i.e. bacterial growth
mostly. The contamination can be due to
microbial toxins produced by bacteria, parasites
and virus. Some of their bacterial products may
be used to combat these pathogenic microbes.
Probiotic bacteria i.e., bacteriocins can kill and
inhibit pathogens. Alternatively, purified
bacteriocins like nisin can be added directly to
food. The foods which are at high risk of
contamination includes poultry, eggs, dairy, sea
foods, green leafy vegetables & fruits, rice,
sprouts and deli meats. Proper cooking of food
also eliminates bacteria and viruses. However,
toxins produced by contaminants may not
change to non toxic ones by heating or cooking.
Foods such as meat and meat products have rich
nutrient content and are able to get
contaminated easily. (Arun K Das et al; 2019)
The contamination of these products can occur
at any stage of production. In some countries,
meat product’s slaughtering is done on
unhygienic equipments and environment
conditions which lead to contamination. (Arun K
Das et al; 2019) These microbes can also be
helpful in preserving the food items such as by
the process of fermentation. For most of the
people around world, meat and its products are
the first choice for protein source and hence the
consumption is increasing. (Ajay Kumar V. J. &
Mandal P. K; 2020) With this many products are
spoiled each and every year, with poultry and
meat weighed 3.5 billion kg wasted by people at
different levels and showed substantial impacts
environmentally and economically. Apart from
microbes being used for fermentation, they are a
great reservoir for disease transmission which
can also lead to death. Many of the developing
countries are the main victims of food borne
diseases and therefore food safety is emerged as
challenge globally. (Akhtar. S., et al;2014) The
microbes are capable to resist themselves
against antibiotics and that is when the major
concern starts. Developed countries can also
gets affected and their 1/3 population develops
food borne illnesses annually. Even several
efforts are being taken for food safety still food
borne diseases is major health concern because
it leads to significant morbidity and mortality.
(Baluka, S. A., et al; 2014) The bacteria such as
Esherichiacoli, Staphylococcusaureus,
Bacilluscereus, Pseudomonas, Coliforms,
Salmonellaspp., Listeriaspp., Shigellaspp.,
Clostridiumspp., Yersiniaspp., etc are capable to
contaminate food. The microbes are also capable
to grow when cooked food is reheated several
times. Not only bacteria can contaminate food,
but there are some other agents also. Some
chemicals like toxins, heavy metals etc can also
contaminate the food. The contamination can
occur any stage of food production from farm to
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Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504
table. Each and every step in food production is
crucial as well as vulnerable to contamination. It
is not necessary that food gets contaminated
during these stages but also cross contamination
can occur, therefore proper care should be taken
to prevent contamination. (Fig. 1)
There are different types of food contamination
such as Physical Chemical and Biological. Many
strains of bacteria and viruses which have the
potential to cause illness in human comes under
biological contaminants. Some illnesses may
also caused by parasites and chemicals. (Fig.
2)According to Australian Institute of Food
Safety, The contaminants such as hairs, insects,
stem, etc,those are physical objects and are
capable of contaminating are called physical
contaminants and they cause physical hazards
and the contaminants such as heavy metals,
toxins, pesticides, fertilizers etc, or substances
that have some chemical composition and are
capable of inducing chemical toxicity and causes
chemical hazards. Biological contaminants
involve all the viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
For example: Esherichiacoli,
Staphylococcusaureus, Salmonellaspp.,
Clostridiumspp., etc. Each strain and species is
capable of causing toxicity and different diseases
in human beings. Environmental contaminants
are the chemicals that are present in
environment where food is grown or animals
are raised. The environment conditions that
causes contamination are air (pollutants like
lead, SOx, NOx, etc), water (metals like mercury,
arsenic, lead, chromium etc.), soil (cadmium,
nitrates, microorganisms etc), natural toxins like
mycotoxins, ciguateratoxins, scombrotoxins etc.,
packaging materials like BPA (BisPhenol A),
copper, processing equipments etc. In India,
most of the food diseases and illness are not
investigated and comes under notice when
damage to health and economic have been
caused, (Foodborne Diseases and Food Safety in
India.CD Alert, 2017) and identification of
causing factors is a difficult task in such
situations. However, the prevention of such
diseases is area of interest in food safety. Most of
these diseases are caused by bacteria and its
toxins and toxin formation takes place in food
before its consumption. (Ramesh V Bhat,
Nageswara Rao R. et al: 1987)
The following review paper is hence an attempt
to provide information about the food
contamination, diseases and illnesses,
contamination through varying stages, and its
prevention.
2. PATHOGENIC AGENTS AND ILLNESS
The consumption of food which is contaminated
leads to food borne illness. The contamination
can occur due to presence of microbes and
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128
pathogens in food. Most food borne diseases are
either infections or poisonings caused by
bacteria, viruses or parasites and harmful toxins
or chemicals respectively. Food borne
pathogens can also be acquired through
drinking water, consumption of food cooked
with contaminated water, contact with animals
or their environment or through person to
person spread. (Table: 1) Also, Food borne
illness is an infection caused by food or
beverages that contain harmful bacteria,
parasites, viruses, or chemicals. Most of the food
borne illness is acute, which means, they lasts
for short duration. Most people recover on their
own without any treatment simply by keeping
their body hydrated. These symptoms can last
from few hours to several days depending upon
its range of mild to serious. The agents for food
borne illnesscan be any physical, chemical,
biological and environmental contaminant but
the most common invisible agents for food
contamination is bacteria.Bacteria is present
everywhere and can grow wherever provided
with favourable environmental conditions.
However, some of the bacteria are non-
pathogenic that means they does not poses
virulence, they are usually enumerated not
detected because they are present almost
everywhere outside and within the body. Some
of the common illness caused by pathogenic
includes: Shigellosis, Salmonellosis, Listeriosis,
Camplylobacteriosis, Botulism, Esherichiacoli
infection etc.
Botulism: The disease is caused by bacteria
Clostridium spp., like Clostridiumbotulinum,
Clostridiumdifficile, Clostridiumperfringens and
Clostridiumtetani. (Akhtar. S., et al; 2014) The
ingestion of canned food items which are
prepared at home causes the disease. The heat
resistance spores are capable to survive in these
foods. The growth of Clostridium botulinum
results in formation of potent neurotoxin (in 7
different forms) which causes neuroparalytic
syndrome in living beings. (Skarin et al; 2011)
The disease may result in death. The organism
can thrive in favourable growth conditions like
temperature, acidity, oxygen, and water acidity.
The conditions whenever found in food poses
health risks and mortality rate.
Shigellosis: The disease is common in children.
Worldwide almost 600.000 children (under 5
years) die because of shigellosis. (Akhtar. S., et
al; 2014) The disease is caused by sera-groups
of Shigellaspp., like Shigellasonnei, Shigellaboydii,
Shigellaflexneri, Shigelladysenteriae. The
symptoms of disease involveabdominal pain,
vomiting, fever, diarrhoea (watery and bloody),
mucus and pus.
Campylobacteriosis: This is caused by bacteria
Campylobacterjejuni and is common worldwide.
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The disease is caused by bad food handling
practices and poor hygiene. The victims of
infection are mostly not priviledged or have
access to safe drinkingvwater and sanitary
conditions. (Soofi et al., 2011; WHO, 2002) In
developing countries there is lack of treatment
facilities which aggravates the disease. (Akhtar.
S., et al; 2014) Also, the infected people are at
risk of developing GullienBarre Syndrome or
GBS a neurological disease (Tam et al; 2007)
which starts with finger numbing.
Esherichiacoli infection: E. coli is a marker for
fecal contamination and is part of human,
mammals and bird’s gut. Many of the strains of
E. coli are not hazardous but they may cause
some intestinal disorders. The symptoms of all
infections depend upon the strain which has
caused the infection.
Salmonellosis: The disease is caused by group of
enteric bacteria which is gram negative. The
bacteria is poisoning in most of the developing
and developed country worldwide. (Akhtar. S.,
et al; 2014) The symptoms involves Fever,
headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,
diarrhoea. The disease causing agents could be
Salmonellaenteritidis, Salmonellatyphi,
Salmonellaparatyphi. The transmission of
disease is usually from poultry, eggs, and meats.
Salmonellatyphi, Salmonellaparatyphiare
commonly dangerous in developing nations and
societies due to lack of access to safe drinking
water and food.
Listeriosis: The disease is usually caused by a
spore forming bacteria called
Listeriamonocytogene. Although, there are many
different species and strains of Listeria capable
of causing listeriosis such as Listeriaivanovii,
Listeriainocua, etc. The disease is common in
people with immune-suppression. The source of
disease could be milk, cheese, fish, and
vegetables. The bacteria is capable to grow
under cooling temperatures also.
(Moretro&Langsrud, 2004)
3. STAGES OF FOOD CONTAMINATION
The food contamination can occur at any stage
from start to end i.e. from farm to fork. This is
very crucial to identify that what is the major
source of contamination. The food gets
contaminated very quickly and easily at any
stage, so proper care and sight is needed to
prevent and control it. There are no certain
stages of food contamination but it can be
classified under pre- harvest, harvest and post-
harvest.
3.1 Pre- harvest contamination
This is the stage which involves the growing of
food in field (plant source) and animals being
raised to slaughter in future (animal source).
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128
Some of the chemicals are already present in
food as a result of environmental contamination.
(Nerín, C., et al; 2016) Microorganisms,
pathogens, heavy metals, pesticides and other
harmful chemicals can contaminate the food
either by soil grown upon or the water used to
irrigation. This could also result due to excessive
use of fertilizers and pesticides. (Kobayashi. M.,
et al; 2011) The contamination can also occur
from the worker if poor hygiene is followed.
Water contaminated with microbes like E.coli,
fecal coliforms, heavy metals like lead, arsenic
etc used for irrigation and pesticide application
can lead to food borne diseases and illness. Also,
the animals being raised in animal houses given
contaminated water causes diseases in animals
and when these animals consumed as a part of
food affects human health. The vegetables like
lettuce, and carrots are susceptible to
salmonella and E.coli because of their water
holding capacity. Fishes and other sea foods get
contaminated by water they live in. Heavy
metals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury
etc., might be a part of environment like air,
water and soil on which food is grown
(Zukowska. J., et al; 2008) and causes heavy
metal toxicity in humans. There are plenty of
toxins, heavy metals like lead, arsenic, PCBs etc,
and microbes present in water when absorbs
affects the health of fishes and other sea food
items. Studies have shown that manures used as
fertilizers may contain chemicals and other
compounds which can have effects on the crops
as well as on the health of living beings. The
pathogens like E.coli O157:H7 present have the
tendency to gain acid resistance and surviving
low pH environments. E. coli O157:H7 can
survive upto 21 months in animals like sheeps
and when manures from these animals are used
as fertilizers affects the crops and leads to
contamination. (Kudva. I., et al; 1998) Animal
origin food gets contaminated when feed with
contaminated water and food. Also, the
contamination begins while breeding processes
and the quality decreases with increase in
inhumane treatment. (Arun K Das et al; 2019)
When these animals are ingested raw can cause
illness in humans. Also the environmental
conditions under which the animals are raised
also affect the extent of contamination. For
example, if animals are raised in close proximity
of contaminated river or sewage system, the
chance of infections increases. Workers
following poor hygienic practices also lead to
contamination in pre harvest stages.
3.2 Harvest stages
The contamination in this stage can occur from
all the equipments used for harvesting such as
knifes, blades, sickles, boxes, chippers etc by
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Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504
workers (Alum. E., et al; 2016) and also the
containers used by workers to store the plant
produce. The unwashed equipments can be a
room for microbes and pathogens therefore it is
necessary to sanitize the equipments and
containers before use. Auto motors like tractors
with blades used for sowing can contaminate
the whole field if not sanitized and washed.
Workers personal hygiene plays a major role
here also because many items are harvested
using hands. (Alum. E., et al; 2016) The meat and
poultry can get contaminated in their pre
slaughter and slaughter stages from feed lots,
transport, lairiages etc. The feeding with
infected food can cause meat and poultry to
carry bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
Other items like cloth, footwearsetc and insects,
rodents, pets, animal and human feces can also
contribute to contamination of meat and
poultry. Use of contaminated equipments such
as knife used for slaughtering can cause cross
contamination. Fishes which are not grown via
aquaculture poses a great threat to human
health because the contamination goes
unknown. During aquaculture, the environment
of water affects the fish quality. Also, after fish
catching, the surfaces and clothes on which they
are kept, equipments used for their catching and
cuttings also causes contamination.
3.3 Post- harvest stages
This is the last stage for food. This involves four
more stages, which involves Food processing:
the first stage after harvesting which involves
the changing of plant or animal into edibles.
There are so many different steps of food
processing for each and every food item. For
example: washing or sorting can be a process of
food production. Other processes can involve
slicing, trimming, shredding etc. (Monteiro, C. A.;
2010) For animal origin, slaughtering is first
step of processing and these are chopped into
pieces. The meat and meat products including
poultry can be smoked, frozen or cooked and
sometimes are mixed with other ingredients like
potpie to make sausages. The contamination can
occur when washing, packing and chilling of
fruits and vegetables is done by using
contaminated water and ice. Also, if the surfaces
of processing units or storage bins are
contaminated, cross contamination to food can
occur in both plant and animal originated food.
Most of the times, there are chances of final
meat product getting contaminated with germs
originating from animal’s intestines. Another is
Food distribution and transportation: The
process of transferring food from farm to
consumer’s locations requires distribution and
transportation. Locations such as grocery shops,
restaurants, markets etc, which are far away
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128
makes the distribution and transportation
process complex. This is crucial step because the
safety of food is at high risk. The cross
contamination can occur from chemicals and
disinfectants used for long distance ships.
(Nerín. C., et al; 2007) The items are packed,
segregated and distributed according to the
demands of consumer. The packaging of food
involves addition of additives like stabilizers,
antioxidants, preservatives etc., in order to
increase material’s properties. (Nerín, C., et al;
2016) There are many points in this step which
can cause contamination. For example, if frozen
meats are meant to transport to consumer, it has
to be loaded in a transport directly from
processing units and are sent to supplier chain,
there they are stored in warehouses for a certain
period of time. This might provide the frozen
meat favorable conditions during some of point
of time and results in contamination before
reaching its final destination. Meat and meat
products should be packed in such a way to
prevent environmental contamination before its
consumption so as to bring meat safety. (Arun K
Das et al; 2019)Additives added during the
packaging of food might be migrants causing
cross contamination. (Paseiro‐Cerrato, R., et al;
2010) Also when food is not kept as safe
temperature at the time of transport and
distribution, food gets spoiled. The packaging of
dry foods such as rice, flour, cereals etc involves
the use of paper and board, which also leads to
cross contamination. (Nerín, C., et al; 2016)
Transporting of edible items with animals or in
a van that just transported cattle (without
disinfection and cleaning) causes cross
contamination. For meat and meat products, if
any biological hazard occur at this stage it will
impact meat negatively. (Jenson, I., et al; 2014)
The final is Food preparation: The stage which
involves the cooking of food so that it is ready to
consume. The preparation of food can be done
anywhere in restaurant, home kitchens,
institutions, offices, schools etc. (Alum. E., et al;
2016) The step involves the mixing of raw food
with ingredients and spices, other processes like
heating, boiling, baking, and finally serving. The
contamination can occur from the hands of cook
(if gloves are not worn), equipments (if not
washed or sanitized) used for preparation such
as knifes, chopping boards, spoons, and other
utensils. (Alum. E., et al; 2016)The plant and
animal origin food gets contaminated the same
way in food preparation. The proper hygiene
and sanitation should be followed by chef and
regular washing and cleaning of equipments,
surfaces should be done. The storage conditions
of prepared food can also leads to contamination
irrespective of refrigerator or freezer. If meat is
stored with raw items, the juices from meat can
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Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504
slip into raw food causing cross contamination
and this is more of a concern when that food is
meant to consume raw.
4. PRECAUTIONS
The need to take precautions is necessary for
mitigation of several diseases and loses. (Alum.
E., et al; 2016) The loses are more costly then
prevention and an economic analysis for costs
related to food safety showed that the
investment for prevention is a lot more cheaper
than that of an after event. (Ribera, L. A., et al;
2012) The precautions of food safety can be
involve proper sterile conditions should be
maintained for food processing and storage,
proper cooking should be done for raw foods,
sterile packaging should be followed for
packaged ready to eat food items, adequate
temperature and humidity should be maintained
in working environment of food, HVAC i.e.
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
systems should be installed in all the premises
of food facility, storage and preparation area for
both raw and cooked foods must be separated to
avoid cross contamination, proper washing and
cleaning of equipments used in food
preparation, storage, transport and distribution
should be done, regular food testing from
random lots should be done for monitoring of
hygiene qualities, quality Management System
followed should comply with ISO 9000, proper
cooking guidelines should be followed, swab
collection from equipments and workers and its
testing to monitor hygiene quality, awareness
programs organized by professionals of
companies to educate workers, proper
sanitation, hygiene and quality checks done by
officials, proper handling of food by workers
should be done, the environmental should be
maintained as such that no bacterial growth can
occur. For example: storage of unused food
items must be stored in refrigerator at 4oC-8oC
and frozen meats and seas foods must be stored
in deep freezers etc. The precautions can be
taken on the basis of hazards such as physical,
chemical and biological hazards. For physical
hazards, elimination systems can be used such
as detectors detecting metals, X-rays machines
in case of animal foods. (Arun K Das et al; 2019)
Similarly, for chemical hazards, removal of using
fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides etc in the
agricultural field can minimize the food
contamination and all these are potent
contaminants of environment as well and food
contamination starts from milk, eggs, meat.
(Smith, D. J., & Kim, M.; 2017 and Tilahun, A., et
al; 2016)The discharge from industries includes
heavy metals, toxins, waste and pollutes the field
and water bodies which can act as a source of
contamination for food. To overcome this,
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128
enforcements by food safety regulations are to
be followed. Biological hazards are very critical
to control because this hazard can occur at any
stage of food form farm to plate. To control
microbial growth, controlling temperature, pH,
humidity and moisture is necessary and ionizing
radiations are used sometimes in case of animal
food. (Sofos, J. N. 2008)
5. PREVENTIVE MEASURES
To regulate chemical levels in food, there are
many legislations and regulating bodies. Food
adulteration and unhealthy additives are not
allowed legally. Therefore, for chemical hazard
prevention, effective surveillance and response
systems are necessary. The limits of chemicals
such as pesticide concentration are assigned by
FDA which are allowed to add in food. (Bajwa,
U., & Sandhu, K. S., 2011) However, there are
countries which depend upon agriculture and
pesticides are seeped into ground water having
food and water in high levels. (Rather, I. A., et al;
2017) The government has taken appropriate
steps that minimizes individual exposure
against food contaminants, however, there are
many measures that that are still to be taken to
reduce the diseases and health risks. (Rather, I.
A., et al; 2017) During preharvest &
preslaughter in order to remove pathogens
adoption of GAP i.e. Good Agricultural Practices
during crop development & harvesting must be
done. (David, R. J., et al; 2012) The measures
such as microbial testing of farm & water,
fencing buildup to restrict animals, manure
application, regular cleaning etc can be taken to
prevent contamination at preharvest stage. For
animal originated food, antibodies measurement
should be done to know the status of infection.
The more slaughtering methods are
industrialized, the more risk is to infection.
However, meat animals and carcasses are easily
to get contaminated with bacteria. So,
improvement of slaughter hygiene is necessary
to prevent contamination. (Behravesh, C. B., et
al; 2012) At harvest stage, contamination can be
prevented by potable hand-wash station,
equipment sanitization, etc. Some of the
otherpreventive measures can include regular
cleaning and sanitation of working premises and
equipments should be followed with a detailed
cleanliness program/ chart which details about
frequency, procedure, area, material and
method of cleaning and sanitation, cleaning in
place (CIP) should be adopted in premises for all
equipments, instruments, etc. Good hygiene
practices should be followed and maintained,
containers filled with chemicals should be
properly labelled and stored away from food
items. Food containers should never come in use
to mix or transport chemicals and chemicals
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related products and lubricants used for
equipments should be food safe, proper use of
PPE like gloves, caps, glasses, apron etc, should
be followed during the process. The health of
personnel working in the food production,
processing, storing, distribution and preparation
must be diagnosed on regular basis, practice of
hand washing with soaps & disinfectants and
clean water should followed by personnel
during entry and exit of food handling premises
and after using toilets. Practices like smoking,
chewing, spitting, coughing and sneezing should
be prohibited in premises, outside footwear
should be prohibited in working environment
and long nails should be restricted in working
environment and the design of facility should be
designed in a way to avoid cross contamination
with adequate cleanliness and avoidance of pest
access and accumulation, storage conditions
should be maintained to avoid favourable
conditions for microbial growth. Conditions like
temperature and humidity should be
maintained, the items should be properly
labelled and sealed packaged before sending it
for transportation to avoid any leakage, spillage
or spoilage of food items. The containers used
must be in good quality and shape, also the
vehicle used should be cleaned before loading
packages into it. The workers handling the
transportation process should maintain
personal hygiene and sanitation to avoid cross
contamination. The transport that is used for
food delivery must be different from non food
items. Transporting petroleum and hazardous
chemicals with food items is restricted.
CONCLUSION
Food safety is the discipline that deals with the
food preparation, handling, processing, storage,
distribution and its transportation in such a way
that it does not gets contaminated during any of
these processes. The major role of food safety is
the prevention of any food borne illness and
diseases. When food safety is neglected or care
with food is not taken food borne disease
outbreaks can occur. The consumption of
contaminated food can result in hazards
(physical, chemical, biological and allergenic)
and hence its prevention and control is
necessary. The consumption of food
contaminated with pathogens results in diseases
and poisoning like Salmonellosis, Shigellosis,
Campylobacteriosis, E. coli infection, etc and can
lead to outbreaks and deaths in both developing
and developed countries worldwide. The
contamination of food can occur by improper
hygiene and poor sanitation practices followed
by workers. Also, each and every stage of food
preparation is crucial to contamination and
proper care is to be taken at every stage. To
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128 Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504

minimize these incidents and contamination,

good hygiene practices, good manufacturing
practices should designed and followed
regularly. Consecutive analysis and inspection of
related areas should be followed to prevent
contamination. Other than this, regular medical
check-ups of staff and workers should be done.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to Dr. Ashok K.
Chauhan (founder) of Amity University for
letting us to be a part of the Amity family.

Fecal excretion &

Ingestion of environmental
pathogens by contamination
Cows, buffalo
etc.
Contamination of
water and food

Derived food
& milk
products

Transmission from
animal to person Person to person
from farms, transmission
slaughterhouses
etc.

Fig. 1: Food Contamination Cycle

122
IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128 Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504

TYPES OF CONTAMINATION

Physical Chemical Biological Environment

 Insects • Pesticides • Bacteria • Soil

 Hairs • Heavy • Viruses • water
 Stems metals • Parasites • Air
 Glass • Toxins • Fungi • Natural
 Plastic • Excreta etc toxins
etc etc.

Fig. 2: Types of Contaminants

Distribution
Production Processing and Transport
(farm, (equipments
slaughter and machines)
houses)

Storage Consumers

Fig. 3: Stages of Contamination

123
 IJPCBS 2020, 10(4), 116-128 Smriti Shukla et al. ISSN: 2249-9504

Table 1: Common food borne illnesses and symptoms

(Source: Centre for disease control & prevention, April 16, 2004)
S.No. Disease Causative agent Source Incubation period Symptoms Transmission
Domestic
Fever, chills,
animals, Ingestion of raw milk, poultry
Campylobac- Campylobacterjejuni& Varying from days headache,
1. livestock, (undercooked), beef, pork, cross
teriosis C. coli to weeks prostration malaise,
birds, polluted contamination
swollen lymph nodes
water
Vomiting, diarrhoea,
Enteropatho-genic 12-36 hours Ingestion of contaminated food &
2. E. coli infection Humans abdominal pain fever,
E.coli or 1-6 days water with fecal matter
adheres mucosa
Diarrhoea, cholera
like syndrome,
10-12 hours Ingestion of contaminated food &
3. E.coli infection Enterotoxige-nicE.coli Humans abdominal cramps,
or 1-3 days water with fecal matter
vomiting, dehydra-
tion& shock
Inflammation disease
of mucosa & sub
10-18 hours mucosa, fever, Ingestion of contaminated food &
4. E.coli infection Entero-invasive E.coli Humans
or 1-3 days abdominal pain, water with fecal matter
vomiting watery
stools, diarrhoea
Abdominal cramps, Consumption of raw or
Entero- watery and bloody undercooked meat products, raw
5. E.coli infection Cattles 3-8 days
haemorrhagicE.coli diarrhoea, fever, milk from contaminated animals,
vomiting fecal and cross contamination
Poultry
Fever, headache,
animals, pig, Ingestion of contaminated milk,
Non- typhoid 6-48 hours nausea, vomiting,
6. Salmonel-losis cattles, meat, poultry, water, spices, salads
salmonella serotypes or upto 4 days abdominal pain,
rodents, pets, and chocolates
diarrhoea
chicks, turtles
High fever,
abdominal pain,
Ingestion of contaminated milk,
Typhoid and Salmonellatyphi& S. headache, vomiting,
7. Humans 10-20 days meat, poultry, water, spices, salads
paratyphi fever paratyphi diarrhoea followed
and chocolates
by constipa-tion,
rashes
Abdominal pain,
Ingestion of contaminated raw
Shigellosis vomiting, fever,
chicken, meat, undercooked
8. (Bacillary Shigella spp. Humans 1-3 days diarrhoea (watery
vegetables, fecal matter, beef, pork,
dysentery) and bloody), mucus
milk, salads
and pus
Coastal sea
Consumption of raw or
water,
Vibrio parahaemo- Profuse diarrhoea, undercooked fish or fishery
Vibrioparahaemoly- estuarine 9-25 hours or upto
9. lyticus gastro- abdominal pain, products, cooked foods with
ticus brackish water, 3 days
enterititis vomiting and fever subjects to cross contamination
marine fish
from raw fish
and shellfish
Abdominal pain,
Animals like Ingestion of pork products (tongue,
10. Yersiniosis Yersiniaenterocolitica 24-26 hours diarrhoea, mild feces,
pigs tonsils, gut), milk and milk products
vomiting

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